Elon Musk's SpaceX, NASA Launch Crew-6 To Orbit After Minor Delay: ISS Docking Expected On Friday

Elon Musk-led SpaceX and NASA successfully launched Crew-6 to orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a brief hold-up.

What happened: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried four astronauts safely to the orbit post-launch at 12:34 a.m. ET. The crew will dock at the International Space Station at approximately 1:17 a.m. EST on Friday, March 3, NASA said.

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“The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, commander; Warren Hoburg, pilot; and mission specialists UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the International Space Station, has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has been opened,” NASA confirmed.

The launch was previously scheduled for Monday. However, that was scrapped due to a ground system issue.

An issue prevented data from confirming a full load of ignition sources for the Falcon-9 first-stage Merlin engines, forcing the mission team to hold the launch.

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